Announcements

We began our Church School program for 2011-2012 on Sunday, August 14th. We will be running three regular classes this year, in addition to the year-round preschool class during the Sunday homily. All three classes will take place at approximately 12:45 on Sunday afternoons, after we have had some time to get something to eat.

1. The Elementary School class, for children in grades 1-4 or so, will meet on the 1st, 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month. Matushka Marina will teach this class.
2. The Middle School class, for children in grades 5-8 or so, will meet on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of each month. Dn. Nicholas will teach.
3. The class for adults and teens will meet on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month. It will focus on the fundamentals of the faith — the Creed and the Lord's Prayer — and their meaning for our daily lives as Orthodox Christians. Dn. Nicholas and Fr. Seraphim will teach.

We are getting together at 10AM on Saturday to dig holes for tree stakes and clear tree debris. This is a fairly urgent task — we need to save our trees! — and your help is valued.

There are several other tasks that need to be done as well. Let us know if you can help.

We have a list of things our parish needs. If you or somebody you know wish to supply one of these items, please contact us.

PLEASE NOTE that we will serve Paraklesis (supplicatary service, moleben) in honor of the Theotokos during all days of the Dormition fast that we do not otherwise have an evening service.

This fast is short (2 weeks) and intense, and is a good time to increase our prayer.

At all services, all parishioners, and also many others who are friends of the parish, etc, will be commemorated by name several times.

We will sing either the small of great supplicatory canon to the Theotokos, in the beautiful Byzantine melody that many of us know.

Saturday 8/20

10AM Landscaping workday – digging tree stakes and clearing debris

3PM Church Council Meeting

4PM Confession

5PM Vigil

Sunday 8/21

10AM Divine Liturgy

12:45PM Sunday School, Sisterhood Meeting

6PM Paraklesis

Monday 8/22

7:30PM Paraklesis

Wednesday 8/24

7PM Vespers

Thursday 8/25

9AM Liturgy

7PM Paraklesis

Friday 8/26

7PM Paraklesis

Saturday 8/27

4PM Confession

5PM Vigil

Sunday 8/28. Dormition of the Theotokos.

10AM Divine Liturgy

12:45PM Sunday School

Fasting in the Coming weeks

The Dormition fast begins on Sunday 8/14 and continues until Sunday 8/28, the Feast of Dormition. Wine and Oil are allowed on weekends. Fish is allowed on Friday, 8/19, the feast of the Transfiguration. There is no fasting on the feast of Dormition, Sunday 8/28.

Links: Transfiguration, Dormition

We say today, brothers and sisters, that humanity can meet Divinity; Humanity can see Divinity; Humanity can be part of Divinity.

In the Old Testament Moses, saw the back parts of God; he was hidden in the cleft of a rock; he didn’t see that much [1]. But now, face to face, man is with God. Jesus Christ showing He is fully God, shining as the light.

Did you notice something in this historic and prophetic event? Moses and Elias, were conversing with Him, speaking of His decease: That was for the disciples to remember so that they would overwhelmed by the upcoming passion of our Lord….

SYNOPSIS:We can learn what the church values most about the Theotokos from the Dormition Troparion: In giving birth thou didst preserve thy virginity, / in thy dormition thou didst not forsake the world, O Theotokos. / Thou wast translated unto life, / thou who art the Mother of Life. // And by thine intercessions dost thou redeem our souls from death

We can learn almost everything that we need to know from listening and praying in the services.

The Dormition troparion, "In giving birth Thou did preserve Thy virginity," proclaims our belief, that the Theotokos was a virgin before birth, during birth and after birth. And if you want to have this explained, then you do not understand. It is a mystery that we cannot understand, but the Church has been unanimous about this for well over a millennium, almost two millennia. …